Armin smiled and shook his head as Tanner spoke to him. Random song requests emanated from the crowd as they tweaked their instruments. For a fraction of a second Anabelle thought that perhaps their discussion was directed towards her. However, that notion was quickly dispelled by a cacophony of squeals from a small group of beautiful women to her left. She hadn’t noticed them there earlier. Immediately, it was all too clear who the Vossler brothers were motioning towards.
Sooooo predictable…
A few more seconds of instrument tuning passed before the band began to play its biggest hit, “Lost in Her”. It was the only one of their songs that Anabelle liked. She wanted to stay and listen but irked that she’d tricked herself into thinking they had been looking at her. It just killed any desire she had to hear it and she was disgusted with herself for letting it even go that far.
And anyway, she’d gathered enough intelligence at this point. She quickly collected her things and bolted for the exit. Moments later, she plopped in to her copper clunker. Copper was a euphemism for rust but at least it was paid for rust. As she drove back to her apartment, she felt a sudden twinge of anger towards the two of them. Men like them had only ever been a source of pain in her life. Sure, they hadn’t intended to tease her at the bar but some part of her just took it that way.
It was stupid but she couldn’t help herself.
More than anything, Anabelle couldn’t wait for the interview, and her class, to just freaking be over already. It was so damn frustrating. Why the hell did Professor Wilkinson want them interviewed anyway? What was so special about them? Weren’t they just like any other band – red hot today and gone tomorrow?
The more Anabelle thought about it, the more indignant she became.
Just get through it. It’s only a couple of hours out of your life.
She’d come this far and nothing… least of all a couple of sleazy bad boy rockers, were going to stop her now.
***
“Seriously? You have got to be kidding me.” Anabelle muttered as she checked the time on her cell phone. The Vossler brothers were already almost an hour late. To make matters worse, neither her texts nor calls to them had been returned or even so much as acknowledged.
As she sat in the lobby of the swankiest hotel in town, the Peninsula Grand Hotel, Anabelle fumed.
In her mind, these two were the embodiment of everything that was wrong with society today. They were rude, inconsiderate, self-centered jerks. No doubt they were out carousing until all hours with God knows how many women.
Arrogant pricks. Five minutes. That’s it and not a second longer.
She stuffed her cell phone back into her bag, leaned her back into the chair and exhaled in an attempt to calm herself. As she sat watching hotel guests mill about in front of the nearby lunch buffet a tall, slender man approached.
“Miss Mitchell?” he said as he drew near.
“Yes?” she replied.
“Miss Mitchell, I’m Peter Tannyhill, concierge of the Peninsula Grand Hotel. Would you mind coming with me for a moment?”
With a hint of confusion in her voice Anabelle asked, “Come with you? Well, I, I’m waiting for someone.”
“Yes, ma’am. I know. If you please…”
A skeptical look came across Anabelle’s face as she rose to her feet. “You know?” she said.
“Yes.” He replied as he nodded. He then stepped to one side and made a sweeping gesture with his right hand. “Madam, if you please…”
Anabelle narrowed her eyes for a moment and said, “Fine.” She then gathered up her belongings and trailed the gangly Mr. Tannyhill as he led her across the lobby towards a bank of elevators. A moment later, the pair entered one of the elevators and the doors closed behind them. Without turning to face her, Tannyhill reached in the breast pocket of his suit and removed a key. He then inserted it into the elevator panel and pressed a button simply labeled, “PS”.
As the elevator began to move he turned back to Anabelle and asked, “Miss Mitchell, is this your first time visiting the Peninsula Grand?”
Anabelle’s bag had begun to slip down her arm slightly. She reached down, tugged it upwards once more and replied jokingly, “Yes. It’s a bit out of my price range.”
“I understand.” He replied as he smiled softly and nodded.
Anabelle hated growing up poor and places like this only reminded her of how much she’d gone without in life. She didn’t hate the hotel per se, but what it represented to her – something she could never have, the unattainable things in life that weren’t meant for people like her. Deeply suppressed emotions begun to tug at her again. She could feel the resentment begin to grow, but luckily before they completely darkened her mood, the elevator stopped and the doors floated open.
“Miss Mitchell.” Tannyhill said with a gentle nod and a gesture indicating that she should exit.
As she walked off the elevator, Anabelle was shocked by what she saw.
For starters, the elevator hadn’t opened into a hallway but rather directly in a room. And, what a room it was. Her eyes boggled as she stepped out of the elevator and into the spacious foyer. From behind, she could hear Tannyhill jiggle his keys and then a moment later, the click clack of his shoes made their way towards her across the gleaming marble floor.
He circled around in front of her and said, “Miss Mitchell. Welcome to the Presidential Suite of the Peninsula Grand Hotel.”
Anabelle was, in a word, awestruck. It was truly magnificent.
“Th… Thank you Mr. Tannyhill.” She replied.
He smiled and said, “I am obliged to inform you that the gentlemen you are here to meet with were called away unexpectedly last night, just after the conclusion of their show.”
Suddenly Anabelle’s blissful state was interrupted. For a moment, she’d lost track of what she was doing and why she was even with Tannyhill in the first place.
Her anger resurfaced.
She turned her head towards Tannyhill and said flatly, “Well, I called and texted them. Why couldn’t they have just told me all of this themselves? It is incredibly rude and inconsiderate.”
Tannyhill folded his hands together at his waist. He then nodded and replied, “I couldn’t say ma’am. I do hope that you will forgive me as the bearer of such frustrating news. I have very limited information. I was asked only to escort you to their suite. Please do understand.”
Indignant, Anabelle shook her head slowly and said, “No… I know Mr. Tannyhill. It’s not your fault. I apologize if I was short with you.”
“There’s no need for an apology Miss Mitchell.”
“Do you have any idea when I can be expecting them?”
“No madam, unfortunately I do not.”
“I see.”
“Have you decided that you will wait for them?”
Anabelle grimaced and considered her options but the truth was that there weren’t any and she knew it. She was going to have to just wait. Frustrated she replied, “Yes, I suppose I don’t have any choice. Do I?”
“That is a decision only you can make Miss Mitchell.”
“Yes. I know.” Anabelle’s eyes lazily made their way around the suite’s interior, drinking in the splendor of it all as they did. “Alright Mr. Tannyhill. I will stay here for a little while longer but if you happen to hear from them, please let them know how long I have been waiting.”
“Yes, madam. I will do as you ask. Is there anything I can have delivered to you while you wait?”
“No, no thank you Mr. Tannyhill.”
“Very well. I will leave you now. Should you require anything further, please contact me directly using the house phone. Dial seven to ring me.”
“Thanks. I will.”
Tannyhill turned to leave and within moments the elevator doors had closed and with that, she was alone.
Anabelle cast a wandering gaze around the suite once more. If two rock stars were staying in this place, you never would have guessed it. In fact, as far as Anabelle could tell, it didn
’t look like anyone was staying here at all. Curious, she began exploring the opulent accommodations and as she did, random thoughts entered her consciousness.
Ahhhh… the rock star life…Five star luxury hotels, private jets and beautiful women at every turn.
As she sauntered about, she imagined that no whim was too extravagant, no desire beyond the reach of their fame and fortune. They were young, rich, talented and incredibly good looking. She was quite certain that neither one of them knew how good they had it in life. As she headed down a hallway towards the bedrooms she thought about how different they might be if they’d only had to struggle and fight for everything like she had. If that was the case, then they might be more familiar with basic rules of decorum like humility and respect for others. It was obvious neither of them possessed such traits.
In fact, the more she considered it, the more convinced she became that they likely saw nothing wrong with the way they’d behaved. After all, who the hell was she? To them, she was just another college groupie disguised as a journalist and a chubby one at that. Finally, Anabelle entered one of the bedrooms. She paused for a moment and then walked across the room to a large window that overlooked downtown.
Once arriving at it, she peered out over the great expanse beneath her. As much as she hated to admit it, it was a beautiful view. From here, her troubles seemed miles away as if they could be carried away by one of the clouds passing overhead. She wondered what it must be like to be free of troubles and live each day as if the world existed for your own pleasure, like they most assuredly thought it did.
She lingered at the window for a few more moments before turning and heading back towards the king sized bed in the center of the room. Big as it was, even it seemed tiny in the vast expanse of walls and twelve foot ceilings that surrounded it. She hopped on to the edge of the bed, tossed her feet up on to it and reclined back into the pillows.
Wow…
Never in her life had Anabelle lay down on anything so comfortable. In that split second she realized that the rich really do live better that everyone else and in probably every single way imaginable. As she lie there, the rays of the warm afternoon sun stretched across the room towards her. The heat from them draped across her body and, for the moment at least, calmed her for the first time all day. So much so that within minutes she was overcome with a sudden urge for sleep, if only for a few minutes.
Just a quick nap…
It was the last conscious thought she had. When Anabelle’s eyes next opened, the previously sun kissed bedroom was now cloaked in darkness.
Shit! She thought as she bolted into an upright position.
To her left, light from adjacent room caught her attention. She swallowed hard and turned her head to in an attempt to determine if anyone was there with her. She braced herself with her left arm and as she did, the large bed groaned a bit. She couldn’t see or hear anything, it appeared as if she were still alone. After a few moments, she reached the most obvious conclusion possible. She bit her lower lip and cursed audibly, “Those mother fuckers never showed.”
Disgusted, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and prepared to leave once and for all when a male voice from across the room said, “Mother fuckers? Man, that’s pretty harsh.”
Anabelle’s head snapped to her right, in the direction of the voice.
They were seated at opposite ends of a large chaise lounge. Long, lean bodies rested comfortably and angled slightly towards one another. There was a casual air about them as if watching women they didn’t know sleep was just something they did all the time.
It probably was.
Suddenly indignant, Anabelle cleared her throat and straightened her back. There was at least ten to twelve hours of pent up anger that she was poised to spew at them specifically and a lifetime’s worth at men like them in general.
But before she unleashed a torrent of obscenity, she collected her thoughts just long enough to remind herself of the bigger picture and what was at-stake. After a deep inhale, she looked in their collective direction and said firmly, “Look… I appreciate that you have agreed to meet with me. I do. But, you’ve kept me waiting for… God, I don’t even know what time it is…”
“Eight eleven.” Tanner Vossler said dryly.
“Jesus! Over twelve hours!” Anabelle exclaimed.
Apparently unmoved by the demands of Anabelle’s rigid timetables, the brothers did not respond.
She was right.
She’d known it all along.
Fucking assholes…
Anabelle was caught between rock stars and a hard place and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. Worst of all is the fact that they seemed to be all too aware of her predicament.
Armin rubbed his aggravatingly sexy, strong chin and said, “You look like you could use a drink. You know, maybe you should learn to relax a little.”
“Relax!” she fired back. And, before she knew it, she’d leapt to her feet and moved directly in front of the smoking hot duo. These two were so infuriatingly smug, shockingly inconsiderate and ridiculously cute that Anabelle wasn’t sure which raged within her greater – her barely controlled anger or her sorely neglected libido.
She managed to stay somewhat calm and slowly said, “Tanner… Armin… I don’t want a drink. To be honest, I don’t even like being in the same room with either one of you…”
Tanner interrupted in a stern tone and shot back, “Hey honey, what the hell is your problem? Why do you have such a chip on your shoulder? You are the one that wanted to interview us, remember? Do you have any idea how many interviews we turn down every single day?”
Anabelle drew her lips inward to form a thin crease. Angrily, she crossed her arms at her chest. As much as it pained her, she had to take care to not to make a mess of this whole thing. Finally, she grudgingly replied, “No. I mean, I know. I know that you are wildly popular, insanely busy and on and on… I’m… I’m just, I’m sorry.”
Tanner answered, “Hey, it’s no big deal. After all, this whole thing was our fault. Tell you what, let’s start over. Would you at least give us a chance to do that?”
It wasn’t as if she really had a choice. Even so, somewhere inside she wanted to make them work for it. She knew it was crazy but she decided to chance it anyway and replied, “Hmmm, I dunno… maybe.”
Armin raised an eyebrow and replied, “Maybe?”
Anabelle felt a foreign surge of confidence race through her veins. Coyly, she answered, “Mmm, hmm.”
After a pause, Tanner said, “Okay then, we’ll bite. We can’t wait to hear what we can do to maybe make it up to you.”
With her right hand planted on her ample hip, she angled her head towards them, gave them a wry smile and said, “Maybe if you take me to dinner, I’ll consider it. After all, it’s the least you can do since I haven’t had a thing to eat all day long because of the two of you.”
The brothers turned toward each other and chuckled. After a few seconds, Tanner turned his attention back to Anabelle and said, “I like your spirit. I think that’s something that my brother and I can agree on. Besides, the food is pretty good in this dump. It’s a deal. Would you like to just go downstairs and get something?”
Anabelle felt a small measure of victory at the brothers’ invitation. Her triumph had come easier than she had expected. She only hoped that the interview would go as smoothly as the last ninety seconds of conversation had gone. “Okay, that sounds good.” She replied.
“Great…We’re starving as well.” Armin replied. “Ready then?”
“Yes. Well, actually, I need to call my roommate so that she can take care of my cat. Do you mind giving me a moment?” Anabelle said.
The brothers exchanged glances and smiled at one another. The communication did not go unnoticed by Anabelle. As she fished around in her purse for her cell phone, her eyes darted back and forth between the two of them.
“What?” She asked.
“It’s nothing.” Armin said w
ith a cheeky grin.
“Bull… What is it?” she asked.
“Cats…” Tanner joked.
“What is so funny about that?” She asked.
“Oh nothing. You’re not like a crazy cat lady or something are you?” Tanner said.
“No.” she deadpanned.
“Good. We wouldn’t want people getting the wrong idea about us. You know, that we hang out with people like that.” Armin joked.
She smirked and said, “I’ll be sure and make a note of it… What’s wrong with cats anyway?”
Tanner laughed and said, “Nothing. Nothing at all…”
***
Several minutes later the private elevator doors opened into the vast lobby of the Peninsula Grand Hotel. In the short time she’d been upstairs, Anabelle had already forgotten how extravagant it was.
“After you…” Armin said as he gestured towards the elevator exit.
“Thanks…” she replied as she exited.
“The restaurant’s over there…” Tanner said as he pointed towards the far side of the lobby. As they walked, Anabelle couldn’t be sure if it was her imagination playing tricks on her or not but she could have sworn that people were staring at her the entire time.
She’d never been around anyone famous before. It wasn’t something that she had considered or thought about in any way. Even if she had, there was no way she could have prepared for it. With each step, the walls seemed as if they were closing in on her. As the seconds ticked by, she felt increasingly trapped, almost to the point of feeling claustrophobic.
Like most people, Anabelle always assumed that being noticed, watched and even photographed was all part of the price that came with fame. Truthfully, she’d never had sympathy for stars who complained about their lack of privacy. As far as she was concerned, that was just part of what it meant to be famous. But, now, she saw things from a different perspective, if only for the briefest of moments.
The strangest part about it all was that Anabelle had spent the better part of the entire day fixated on the allure of what fame could bring. She’d never stopped to consider the downsides – mostly because she had always assumed that there weren’t any. Now after mentally chastising the brothers for not being able to relate to the life that she had lived, she suddenly felt an odd kinship with them when it came to theirs.
Gabrielle Demonico Page 21
